


ah=iyon-du i-fer-ea

by MegumitheGreat



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Emotional Song Pact, Incarnate!Cloud, M/M, One Shot, Post-Nibelheim Incident (Compilation of FFVII), Self-Indulgent, Surge Concerto AU, conlang practice, song magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26046319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegumitheGreat/pseuds/MegumitheGreat
Summary: After escaping from Nibelheim and travelling to Cosmo Canyon, Zack learns that Cloud has become something else: a Genom.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Kudos: 21





	ah=iyon-du i-fer-ea

**Author's Note:**

> Totally self indulgent. Can't help but think that Cloud turns into a Genom because of Hojo. I want him to sing to Zack. Such are crossovers and AUs.

Zack held Cloud’s face in his hands that rainy afternoon. They had walked for two days to get as far as Cosmo Canyon, and while the blond man had been comatose since their escape, he seemed like he was fading faster than expected. He had remembered finding several experiment reports about them being injected with S cells. Zack hadn’t shown any reactions to the injection, but Cloud had been unresponsive. The only change now was the fact that he looked like he was near-death with eyes sunken in and pale clammy skin.

“Those reports said that…you’re a Sharl—whatever that means,” Zack sighed.

When they arrived in Cosmo Canyon by nightfall, Cloud had dropped all his weight on Zack as if he was giving up. Zack struggled to carry him in his arms; he was weak from hunger and exhaustion himself. Still, he wasn’t going to give up on getting him somewhere safe.

As he climbed up the stairs carved from the face of the rock that made the entrance into the spiritual village, Zack’s legs buckled under him. Falling forward, he shielded Cloud’s head and panted. He pushed himself again until finally a villager stood over him then disappeared only to return with a group of others.

The next thing Zack knew, he was waking up in a small bed next to Cloud, who had an IV inserted into his arm. He looked over him, and while he looked a little better thanks to the fluids, he still looked like a picture of death.

“He’s an imaginary-type Genom now,” a hovering old man with no legs suddenly but gently said. “If no other human Synchronizes with him, he’ll die before morning.”

“What? What are you talking about? Who are you?” Zack asked him.

“My name is Bugenhagen. The lookout for the village spotted that you had collapsed at our steps. You seem like you’ve gone through a lot.” He hovered over to him. “Tell me, where have you come from?”

Zack held his head. His memory was still coming back to him. “We were travelling from Nibelheim, but…I can’t remember much…”

“I wonder why from there,” Bugenhagen sighed. He looked on at Cloud’s lidded eyes and heaving chest. Even in this vegetative state, his body was striving to survive. “Well, no matter. What does matter is that your friend here needs to Synchronize immediately if he wants to live. I can provide an incantation that will bind you two, but I can only do it with your consent.”

“Of course, I will!” Zack told him without hesitation. “I have to protect him!”

Bugenhagen chortled before instructing him to reach out and touch Cloud’s chest. Before long, Zack felt like there was a link between him and Cloud, and in a few seconds, he seemed to have gotten better albeit still in a coma. He leaned over him, touching his face again to find that his skin had regained its warmth and color.

“If you hadn’t known about Synchronizing, you must not know about Song Magic.”

“No, not at all.”

“Perhaps you can communicate with him on a higher level then. Try this phrase: _iyon-du nya-suu-uii_.”

Zack hesitated and repeated the phrase to Cloud, who as a result took a breath and seemed to fall into a deeper sleep. He relaxed seeing how peaceful his face had become.

“What was that?” he asked.

“It’s called Emotional Song Pact. It’s communicating between you and your Genom, and you can enact Song Magic.”

“Without materia?”

“Of course! Materia gives the common man the ability to use Song Magic, but a Genom is much more powerful and useful. It’s a shame. In just twenty years, Shinra has managed to substitute and therein kill many Genom by using materia. I’m actually surprised to even see a human-sized imaginary one these days.”

Zack couldn’t understand what he was talking about. The four years that he had been held in captivity had made him inept to the world now. With Cloud the way he was, he had to do what he could to make sure he would survive.

The next morning, Bugenhagen offered them a decent breakfast while Zack practiced using Emotional Song Pact to communicate with Cloud. His blue-green eyes lit up after learning that he could enter a subconscious place called the Genometrics. It was here that Zack could speak with Cloud unhindered by his current state.

“Do you feel any different?” Zack asked him.

“I feel fine while we’re here, but…out there, I can’t even think,” Cloud told him.

“I guess that makes sense. Hey, this Emotional Song Pact and Song Magic stuff…”

Cloud smiled at him. “I don’t really understand it, yet I do. That phrase you sang to me—”

“Sang?”

“It sounded melodious. But it helped me sleep and made me want to tell you this while we’re together in the Genometrics.”

Bugehagen waited for Zack to wake up from the Dive into the Genometrics. Zack sat there at the table for a moment. He looked up at the old man, confusion in his eyes.

“Do you know what _ah=iyon-du i-fer-ea_ means? I don’t really get this language yet, so I’ve been trying to understand it.”

Bugenhagen let out a chortle again. “Youth never fails to amaze me even after all these years. Young man, protect that one with all your heart.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was also an excuse to practice writing Emotional Song Pact for another fic!


End file.
